Chiddingly farmer helping people with their mental health through gardening

A Chiddingly farmer has been finding new ways to get people into gardening to help their mental health.

Tom Morphew, who owns Full Circle Farms, has created The Garden Army, inspired by an ex-service friend and a woman he met in hospital.

He said: “I took it for granted how important it was for me to be outside whilst growing vivid, seasonal fruits and vegetables but as time went on I really started to notice a change in myself.

“I was happier and less stressed, and I gained satisfaction from nurturing plants and growing food.

“My mood changed and I felt healthier physically and mentally than I had before.

“During this time, I met Dave Gee, an ex-military policeman, who was trying to help ex-Army suffering with PTSD.

“Knowing that growing produce improved my wellbeing, I asked Dave if horticulture therapy would help.

“We got chatting, and The Garden Army was created.

“It would be a team of ex-military personnel suffering from PTSD and other mental health issues to support me on the farm.

“The aim was to create a farm to grow amazing vegetables but eventually that would be a by-product and its primary purpose was to give people hope, a safe space and a community.

“It would give people purpose, a feeling of part of something, an opportunity to talk and somewhere to go and feel united.”

Tom broke his leg in 2018, and while in hospital met a woman who had tried to take her own life.

She worked as a land girl in World War Two, and the two bonded over their love of working on farms.

Tom said: “I was shocked that at 86 and after all she had been through, that she was so sad and that she thought it was the only way left for her – this made me incredibly heartbroken and angry.

“I felt compelled to do something and to stop this happening to people like her, and while in my hospital bed I watched the NHS staff work tirelessly under stressful circumstances.

“I thought why limit The Garden Army to ex-military, and instead create an army of people who need a place to go, to de-stress and be amongst nature.”

To find out more about Full Circle Farms, visit www.fullcirclefarms.co.uk